An epic montage essay of ten years of turbulence in France and the world in 1967–1977 revolving around the crazy year 1968.

Vietnam. Cuba. The Cold War. The rule by torture of the Shah of Iran. Student revolts in West Berlin and Paris. Black Panthers. The Cultural Revolution in China. The struggle in Venezuela. The interminable speeches of Castro. The Prague Spring of 1968 crushed by Soviet tanks on 21 August: the Russian goodwill thanks to the liberation from the Nazis perished in a day. Ordinary people resentful against student rebels. The shaky terms between the unions and the students. Socialism in one country vs. internationalism. Mitterrand's socialist market economy. The funeral of Jan Palach. The 2500 year celebration of the Persian Empire at Persepolis in 1971. The Minamata mercury poisoning disaster in Japan. The Watergate hearings. The rise and fall of Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973. The first of May in Paris in 1977, "the last day of the united Left".

I first saw Chris Marker's masterpiece 27 years ago in the magnificent touring show of Institut Français called 100 Années Lumière, the best touring retrospective I have ever seen. (Our program note by Louis Marcorelles et al., in Finnish beyond the jump break, dates from the program catalogue of that show). It was already the three hour version. I cannot accurately recall it, but I have vague memory of a rambling, stream of consciousness style attempt to grasp something overwhelming. With a sense of "it's too early to say", referring to Zhou Enlai's answer when he was asked about his opinion about the French Revolution in its 200th Anniversary celebration.

There is no definitive film about that important period of world history, but someone should make one. For the present generations and for the future ones. There is a lot of astounding material in this film. We should annotate it again: the names and the dates, familiar to the ones who lived at the time, should be clearly announced and explained. The present mumbling English narration should be replaced with a better one. (Although there is talent such as Robert Kramer among the present readers).
I can't wait to see this film again. In this screening the most memorable moments included:
– Fidel Castro as a legendary performer
– the deeply moving funeral of Jan Palach
– the cynical atmosphere in the 2500 year celebration of the Persian Empire (the Finnish President Urho Kekkonen highly visible wearing a top hat among the guests of honour)
– the Minamata disaster preceded by the ubiquitous Markerian cat montage
– the courage of Salvador Allende: venceremos!

A film about the grand ideas of the Left and how they failed.

But Chris Marker in this film fails to register that the world did change permanently thanks to the événements. Deep reforms changed France, including its education and health care. Much was achieved. What was planned did not happen. But big things happened that would not have taken place without the rebellions. The crushing of the Prague Spring was the final proof that the Soviet empire was hopeless. The Thaw had ended, and Glasnost came too late 20 years after.

There is a roll of honour of the greatest cinematographers of France in the final credits. I hope to retrieve the names somewhere and copy them here.

This important 2013 restoration has been conducted with a fine sense of judgement.

Marker did this 3 hours version for international market.
It is not the French version with Montand and Signoret voices over
This is the definitive English version which is not exactly the same editing also.

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